The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
In general, a joint connector includes a bus bar provided therein, to which a plurality of terminal pins is connected, and functions to divide current from a single circuit into a plurality of circuits or to collect current from a plurality of circuits into a single circuit.
The number of terminal pins of the joint connector is determined depending on the circuit configuration. Therefore, if the number of circuits is increased, a joint connector having a different configuration capable of handling the increased number of circuits must be produced. For instance, if the number of circuits exceeds the capacity of a 16-pin connector while it is in use, a 30-pin connector must be produced and employed. In other words, depending on the change (i.e. increase or decrease) in the number of circuits in use, the development of connectors suitable for the change must be repeatedly performed.
The joint connector, which is developed in consideration of the number of circuits, has advantages in that connection with the circuits is easy and in that it is harmonious with the circuits because the number of terminal pins is the same as the number of circuits.
However, the development of joint connectors having respectively different numbers of terminal pins causes unnecessary increase in the number of types of joint connectors, degradation of contact reliability, and increase in the burden of quality control processes due to the increase in the number of types of joint connectors.